Sforza Secondo Sforza

Born in Grottammare, he was the illegitimate son of Francesco Sforza by his lover Giovanna d'Acquapendente.

Sforza Secondo and his two sisters Polissena and Drusiana were legitimized in 1448 by the pope Nicholas V. In 1451 he married Antonia dal Verme (?–1487) the daughter of the condottiero Luigi dal Verme; and to mark the occasion Sforza's father granted him the county of Borgonovo.

He and Tiberto Brandolini tried to come to the assistance of Giovanni d'Angiò in his battle against the kingdom of Aragon, but in 1461 Sforza was captured and was only freed thanks to his wife's petition.

[3] He was reinstated in his lands by Ludovico il Moro, who put him in charge of the war against the Republic of Genoa, which had rebelled against the Adorno family.

In 1483 he was promoted to captain general and fought against Parma, which had attempted to rebel against the Sforzas, and the following year he was made governor of Piacenza.